Thursday, 31 January 2013

Lizzie Davenport has been reincarnated from Regency Era, England ... but she doesn't know it yet.Then
Drew Carmichael transfers into Lizzie's high school at the beginning of
the year, and she feels a connection to him, almost like she knows him.
She can't stop thinking about him, but whenever she tries talking with
him about the mysteries behind her feelings, he makes it clear that he
wants nothing to do with her. Reaching him is even more difficult
because she has a boyfriend, Jeremy, who has started to become full of
himself after being elected co-captain of the varsity soccer team, and
her flirtatious best friend Chelsea starts dating Drew soon after his
arrival. So why can't she get him out of her mind?

Even though Lizzie knows she should let go of her fascination with Drew, fighting fate isn't going to be easy.

(Source: Purchased from Amazon.co.uk for only 77p!)16-year-old Lizzie has a great boyfriend, and a great best friend, but when she lays eyes on the gorgeous newcomer at school, everything changes.Lizzie tells herself that she wants nothing to do with the new boy Drew, but can’t help but feel jealous when her best friend Chelsea starts dating him; especially when her own boyfriend Jeremy seems to be changing in front of her eyes, and not for the better. Something about Drew just draws Lizzie to him though, even when he tells her that they can’t be together. But love is stronger than friendship, and slowly draws them together regardless. It seems that Lizzie and Drew may have been together in a past life, but things ended badly.Can Lizzie and Drew make their relationship work? And how many people will get hurt in the process?I really enjoyed this book, although I felt there was less of the whole reincarnation thing than I expected.Lizzie was such a sweet girl, and I loved the romance between her and Drew. I totally understood why she didn’t want to be with Jeremy anymore, and I felt that she totally did the right thing with being upfront with Jeremy about how she didn’t want to be with him anymore.It was unfortunate the situation that Drew and Lizzie got themselves into though, if Drew had never gone out with Chelsea, it would have made things so much easier, and Lizzie wouldn’t have felt like she was betraying her friend quite so much.I thought the romance between Drew and Lizzie was sweet, and I wished that things could have been simpler for them, but that was not the way it was ‘meant to be’.I did think that less was made of the reincarnation thing than I expected, from what I had previously read about this book I had some vague idea that it involved righting past mistakes, but I now get that it was more about preventing them from making the same mistakes again, rather than going back in time to fix them. To be honest, the whole reincarnation storyline took a bit of a back seat to me as I just loved the book as a contemporary romance in its own right.I did like the ending, although I can see that Lizzie and Drew are still going to have many more battles to face if they want to stay together.Overall; a sweet YA contemporary romance. Highly recommended.8 out of 10.

Interview with the author -

Michelle Madow

Can you tell
us a bit about ‘The Transcend Time Saga’ and your Inspiration for it?

The Transcend Time Saga is about a high
school student named Lizzie who has been reincarnated from Regency Era,
England, but doesn’t realize it until she meets her soul mate from the past and
he triggers her memories to gradually return. The series began with Remembrance
(published July 25, 2011), continued with the short story Vengeance (published
December 8, 2011), and concluded with Timeless (published November 20, 2012).

The first book in the series, Remembrance, was
inspired by Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” music video. After I watched the music
video, I had the idea for a story about a high school girl who sees her soul
mate for the first time, and gradually remembers a past life they shared. There
are lots of Taylor Swift references throughout the book!

What three
words would you use to best describe ‘The Transcend Time Saga’?

Fairy-tale, reincarnation, romance

What are
your favourite things about the Lizzie Davenport and Drew Carmichael?

For both Lizzie and Drew, my favorite thing
about them is how much they grow through the series. A criticism I sometimes get
about Remembrance is that some people are frustrated by how meek Lizzie can be
in the beginning of the story. But I did that on purpose so her character can
grow J

When Remembrance begins, Lizzie is in a bad
relationship with her boyfriend of three years, Jeremy. They have grown apart,
but Lizzie is so comfortable in the relationship that she doesn’t yet have the
courage to break up with him. As the story progresses, she learns more about herself
through the visions she gets of her past life, and she gets more comfortable
accepting who she truly is. By Timeless, she is much more confident and mature.

Drew grows a lot as well, but in a very
different way. He’s used to being on his own, so when he first sees Lizzie, his
soul mate from the past, he doesn’t know how to react. (There are reasons why
he feels the need to stay away from her, but telling you would be spoilers for
the story!) His character growth is learning to let people in, and working with
others to solve problems that arise through the series.

Can you tell
us what you’re working on at the moment? (If you are)

I’ve written two other books besides the ones
in the Transcend Time Saga. One is an upper middle-grade urban fantasy about
Greek Mythology and witchcraft. The other is a mature contemporary YA that
takes place in Las Vegas. I am trying to go the traditional publishing route
with the Vegas book, and my agent has it out to publishers right now. Hopefully
they’ll like it!

Other than
your own, what are your favourite books?

There are so many books I love! A few are:
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Hunger Games by Suzanne
Collins, Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Luxe by Anna
Godbersen, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, and Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan.

On my bed. I cannot work at a desk—it makes
me feel uncomfortable and trapped. I do all my reading and writing on my bed
where I can sprawl out and get cozy. (When I was in school I did my homework on
my bed, too.)

If you won
the lottery what would you most look forward to spending money on?

If I won the lottery, the best part would be
knowing I could write books forever and never have to worry about money. I
would most look forward to buying all the designer clothes I wanted!

If you could
live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

South Florida is where I live, and it’s my
dream location, too! Right now I live about 20 minutes from the beach, but my
dream home would be on the beach, so I could look at the ocean while writing. I
don’t like high rise buildings though (they make me feel boxed in), so I would
want house on the beach, which unfortunately costs millions of dollars. Maybe
someday!☺

Visit www.michellemadow.com to purchase Remembrance, the first book in
the Transcend Time Saga, and to add Michelle on Facebook, Twitter, and other
social media sites!

INCLUDED IN THE BONUS PACKET:
- Sneak peak of Remembrance
- Bonus scene for Remembrance
- Deleted chapter from Timeless
- Character extras for Lizzie, Drew, Chelsea, Jeremy, and Hannah
- Author interviews
- Essays written by Michelle Madow about the series

Blurb (from Goodreads): Alison Allbright
has always sought refuge in day dreams - of having a glamorous mother
and a lovely home, of being an exciting person, of doing all the things
that the others at high school do - and more. When Mrs Considine
appears, spinning her amazing web of fantasy and making those dreams
come true, Alison is completely bewitched....until she discovers the
catch.

(Source: Downloaded from Amazon.co.uk for free.)Alison Allbright has very few friends. She keeps to herself, and never lets anyone come to her home because she is ashamed of the fact that she and her parents are poor.One day whilst in the corner shop, Alison’s bike is run over by a blue Rolls Royce, and the driver offers to buy her a new bike.When the new bike arrives, it comes courtesy of a lady called Mrs Considine, who seems overly interested in Alison and asks if she may take her out on a daytrip to make amends for the bike.Alison’s parents are not overly happy about this, and so Alison sneaks off alone and goes anyway. When Mrs Considine then apologises to Alison’s parents, she somehow manages to twist them round her little finger, and next thing you know, she is taking Alison abroad for a holiday!As much as this seems like a fairy tale for Alison, something is not 100% right about Mrs Considine. She claims to have a daughter – Camilla who is studying abroad and looks just like Alison, but then she starts calling Alison by her daughters name, and pretending that Alison is her real daughter.What exactly is going on with Mrs Considine? What does she want with Alison? And where is Camilla?This was a nice little story, with plenty of mystery surrounding Mrs Considine and Camilla. The reader is kept in the dark about exactly what Mrs Considine is planning, and what happened to Camilla.Alison is probably a little too trusting, and gets really wrapped up in what she feels is a dream come true. She really has no idea that Mrs Considine intentions are a little more sinister.I had a vague idea of where the story was heading, but I didn’t guess the details, and I wasn’t sure how it was going to end either.It was pretty easy to spot that this story is quite old, as none of the teens had mobile phones, but this didn’t matter.Overall; a fairly sinister YA/middle grade mystery. I’d say that 11-12 year olds would really enjoy this.6.5 out of 10.

At Maquoit High School,
Tom Bouchard has it made: captain and star of the soccer team,
boyfriend to one of the prettiest, most popular girls, and third in his
class, likely to have his pick of any college, if he ever bothers
filling out his applications. But life in his idyllic small Maine town
quickly gets turned upside down after the events of 9/11.

Enniston
has become a "secondary migration" location for Somali refugees, who
are seeking a better life after their country was destroyed by war—they
can no longer go home. Tom hasn't thought much about his Somali
classmates until four of them join the soccer team, including Saeed. He
comes out of nowhere on the field to make impossible shots, and suddenly
the team is winning, dominating even; but when Saeed's eligibility is
questioned and Tom screws up in a big way, he's left to grapple with a
culture he doesn't understand and take responsibility for his actions.
Saeed and his family came out of nowhere and vanish just as quickly. And
Tom may find himself going nowhere, too, if he doesn't start trying to
get somewhere.

For
one thing, she has a serious illness that keeps her inside the
mysterious Gothel Mansion. And for another, her hair is 15 feet long.
Not to mention that she’s also the key to ultimately saving the world
from certain destruction. But then she meets a boy named Fane, who
changes all she has ever known, and she decides to risk everything
familiar to find out who she really is.

Filled with romance,
adventure, and mystery, Rapunzel Untangled is one story you won’t want
to put down. Discover the true meaning of love and friendship in this
modern twist to the classic fairytale.